Strictly judge Shirley Ballas has revealed what meals she eats during filming(Image: BBC)

Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas eats 2-ingredient meal every day to keep weight off

Shirley Ballas says she had "struggled" with her weight "all her life" and has regularly faced comments saying she "needed to be thinner" or "look a certain way".

by · The Mirror

Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has revealed she eats the same two-ingredient meal every day to stay healthy.

The head judge has previously spoken of how she “struggled” with her weight “all her life” and lost 9lb in one week by adopting a bootcamp-style routine. And to help maintain the loss, Shirley, 64, adopted a two-ingredient meal packed with protein.

She says every day she eats chicken with lemon. On the Comfort Eating podcast with Grace Dent last year, Shirley revealed she avoids the food backstage at Strictly because it is “calorie food”.

She said: “I like to walk around the table because they have lots of yummy cakes, sweets and biscuits, and they have all sorts of fantastic food, but it definitely is calorie food, because the dancers are dancing all day and are young with fabulous bodies. Nope, I get my chicken from Marks and Spencer or Sainsbury’s that has been cooked. They bring me a lot of salad and we might have a little bit of sushi in the afternoon.”

Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas says she avoids the cakes and treats on-set( Image: BBC/Ray Burmiston)

Explaining if the chicken was marinated in anything, Shirley continued: “Just lemon chicken and then I cut it. But it’s a hot chicken that has just been baked and that’s what I have on Strictly. I have had that every year, every week.”

Shirley has previously opened up about comments she has received about her body during her time as a professional dancer. While she has had negative remarks across the years, Shirley says she now “feels proud of herself”.

Shirley says she has always struggled with her weight( Image: shirleyballas/Instagram)

She said: “I’ve constantly had people tell me I needed to be thinner or that I had to look a certain way. Comments throughout my life have always stuck with me and in my past they’ve made me feel conscious of how I look. Sadly I thought that validation from others was necessary.”

Shirley added: “I’m proud of myself and pleased with how I look. I feel good in my own skin.”

Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight on BBC One at 7pm. The celebrities will tonight be performing live for the first time, safe in the knowledge that no one will be exiting the show.

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